Off to Canada, eh?

Heading to the airport shortly for our flight to Toronto.

With Schmidt’s shoulder still a little unknown, he is going to see a doctor today in Los Angeles and will not make the trip to Toronto with us. Instead, he’s going to go on the disabled list and Marlon Anderson will be activated before tomorrow’s game.

Hope to have more when we land or early tomorrow…it’ll be busy up there, with all of Canada seemingly requesting to speak with Russell tomorrow.

123 Comments

Good to see Schmidt on the DL. He needs it. When Tsao gets back into the bullpen, we need to put Billingsley in the rotation. We can’t have Bomko or Hendrickson marching out there every 5th day!
-Brandon of http://dodgerbaseball.mlblogs.com/

So, how bad would it be to start Bills right away when the next Schmidt turn comes up in the rotation. Let’s say he goes four innings in his first start, and a long reliever needs to come in. How is that situation different than having either Schmidt or Wolf start based on their recent performance? The next time out Bills could probably go five innings and so on. It’s time to get our best starters in line, and I bet that Bills would show the best outings after Penny and Lowe.

so schmidt’s spot can be skipped this time around? lowe usually does better when he’s tired strangely enough so i doubt using him thurs. is a problem. Maybe let Bills pitch 5 innings or so the next time around and let someone (houlton?) piggy back with him for the next couple innings.

This seems like the right move. I can’t believe that Jason Schmidt has just turned into a lousy pitcher overnight, so there has to still be a medical problem. Possibly he got rushed back. I don’t expect Schmidt back before the All-Star game, and possibly longer. Make sure he is right, and he can be very helpful in the stretch run.

Billingsley should obviously be given the chance to start in Schmidt’s absence. He has been lights out since mid-April, and was good as a starter last year. He seems to really have learned how to picth in the big leagues, and his very bright future is now. Hendrickson and Tomko have both had their chances, Bills has earned his. Meanwhile, Tomko and Hendrickson can both go middle or long relief. And while I hate interleauge (illegal league) games, we should avoid having to wear out the bullpen in AL parks.

It’s also good that Marlon Anderson is here to be a fifth outfielder along with Loney–Betemit played Right after that stupid scoreboard nearly killed Loney (after nearly killing Kemp earlier in the year). I don’t know what they will do when (if?) Schmidt comes back, or if we need to go back to a 12-man pitching staff. But let me just give one suggestion–don’t option Loney or Kemp. Loney proved himself last year at AAA and the majors, and had a 5-game hitting streak once he got recalled (espescially impressive since he came off the bench a couple of times). I am willing to bet that he would have gotten a hit when his spot in the order came around in the Ninth if he hadn’t been attacked by the Scoreboard of Doom. Kemp, meanwhile, has shown each of his five-tools are possibly unmatched on the team. It’s like he’s going to be a better version of Willie Mays.

Messagebear, i have a questioon for you regarding the last post on the previous thread.

Who else should have Ned gotten in free agency? I agree that the Pierre, Schmidt Nomar signings have turned into dissapointments thus far, but who else was there? He went hard for the power bat and couldnt get it so he went with his backup strategy. Im just curious what you would have done with the money?

I can’t presume that he could have gotten any of the really big bats that went elsewhere, but if he did not have to pay for Pierre, Schmidt and Nomar, he could have afforded to bid higher for any of the following: Soriano, Ramirez, or Lee. Not being able to get any of the three says something to me about his acuity anyway.

I think it’s safe to assume that Kemp and Loney would have had the exact same injuries if they had run into a padded part of the wall. Shoulder separation probably wouldn’t have been prevented by padding, since it was the angle of his arm and force of impact that would have separated the shoulder; Loney hit his knee BELOW the scoreboard, on the concrete.

Let’s stop freaking out about two kids who are running into walls. A lot of guys get injured running into walls at full speed, padding or not…it’s not exactly a natural thing for the body to handle.

the way i see it
pierre-huge mistake in terms of cost and player evaluation

schmidt-high risk/high reward signing, everyone knew he was an injury risk. It didn’t pan out, I can’t help but think the SF connection came into play though.

nomar- I guess I blame Ned and I don’t. If Nomar was performing as he did (the first half) of last year, I wouldn’t mind. But with Loney ready to go, Nomar’s second half collapse last year, injury risk, questionable ability to play other positions…it wasn’t a slam dunk signing.

the only thing that can make this season worse is if ned starts dealing prospects away. IMO, this is not a world series team. I think the org. has a good idea who they must protect, and who they shouldn’t, but I fear the desire to ‘correct’ what ned has done wrong so far looms large.

ewk216, Ned had plenty of other options besides Pierre and Schmidt. Greg MAddux was an obvious choice. He’ll win double digit games and will have his ERA close to or below 4. Which will be better then what we are going to get out of schmidt.

No signing Maddux was a complete mistake. He was cheaper and only wanted 2 years. Im sure Ned wanted nothing to do with Boras. Ned being a complete wuss cost us Maddux.

As for Pierre his signing made no sense at all. First off he’s not very good to begin with and secondly 5 YEARS! 5 BLEEPIN YEARS! Kenny Lofton would have been a much better option. He was cheap and only signed a one year deal. Plus he is better then Pierre. He’ll walk and his arm is a canon compared to Pierre’s.

Ned totally screwed us up this offseason. If we don’t make the playoffs or if we only win 75 games this year I think Ned should be fired.

If Grady skips Billingsley again this time well I think that just shows you everything you need to know about Grady.

I personally hope Ned and Grady are gone after this season. We aren’t going anywhere with them in charge.

i also agree max, with the payroll we have, if we do not see results then he should be fired. he will have no one to blame but himself. look no further ” plan b”. i have a feeling this plan b thing will be a cloud over our heads for many years to come.

i love mike scoscia for the way he handled the kotchman hillenbrand thing at first. he’s not afraid to put the young guys in, as steve finley would probably tell you as well. imagine that, if scoscia was managing pierre and nomar would be riding the pine, maybe npt pierre, but nomar easily. you know mike loves to run, and hit, and hit and run. i love the way he manages.

I see that Baltimore is going to hire Girardi to manage. I wish he was our manager. As for Ned, I thought he did a pretty good job last year, but he has screwed us this year. You guys are right , if this team doesn’t win at least the division, then Ned should be looking over his shoulder. I just hope he doesn’t trade the kids for more washed up vets or worse yet a 6 month rental.

Most likely if Bills is successful as a starter AND Schmidt comes back healthy (we’ll just see about that) Kuo would be out of luck. But, it’s way too soon to start thinking that. There is no weak link in that rotation Penny, Lowe, Kuo, Wolf, Bills. Each one of them are capable of keeping us in every game. My fear is if somebody fails to get out of the 6th we have bullpen depth issues.

Hey messagebear – I’d take Bonds straight across for Pierre in a heartbeat. Then we could rag on Barry at all of our home games, too! (LOL). Wouldn’t it be great if Bonds came to L.A. and went into the HOF in a Dodger uniform? That would be so… Bonds-like.

As for Schmidt – I’m betting that he is done for the season and that Billingsley replaces him in the rotation.

This is ri-f**king-diculous. IF the Dodgers have one bad season Ned should be fired? It’s not like he was given much to work with when he took over the reigns, other than a great farm system which he hasn’t fully exploited but certainly hasn’t traded away.

People who I DON’T remember being here when Coletti took over (and I could be wrong on some of these):

Beimel

Saito

Wolf

Martin (would NOT have been starter under DePo/Tracy, who were in love with Navarro)

Furcal

Betemit

Gonzales

Ethier

Where would we be this season without any of the above-mentioned players? I didn’t even put Nomar on there, even though his original signing was a great one, because of his struggles. I, for one, believe that Ned really tried to acquire a power bat to the best of his abilities; there were only about 3 out there, with 30 teams. Just because he hasn’t yet doesn’t mean he won’t have an opportunity at the deadline or in the offseason this year.

Players acquired by Ned with questionable merit:

Schmidt

Nomar

Hendrickson

Seanez

Lieberthal

Tomko

Several of these guys could still turn out to be good signings (Schmidt, Nomar, Seanez), while others were good in spurts (Hendy, Tomko).

Inarguably bad contracts:

Pierre

(Perhaps Tomko should be on here, but like I said before, he’s been good for stretches)

…

People Ned has traded away:

Duaner Sanchez

Izturis (underperforming for CHC)

Jae Seo

Dioner Navarro

Joel Guzman

Willy Aybar

Edwin Jackson

Danys Baez

Ricky Ledee

Jose Cruz Jr. (released?)

Milton Bradley

I’m sure I’m missing names, but do you miss ANY of those players other than Sanchez? Furcal is an upgrade over Izzy, as much as I loved him. All of the prospects mentioned above have totally flamed out. Good judge of talent by Coletti, and way to get some value in return, as follows:

People Ned has traded for:

Hendrickson

Maddux

Betemit

Marlon Anderson

Brady Clark

Ethier

Maddux, Marlon and Ethier were three reasons the Ds made the playoffs last year – I think I’m quite safe to say that. Betemit could still prove to be our everyday 3b.

All this to say: I dare someone to post the 2005 40-man roster and show how Ned has made this team worse. You might say “Pierre” – you’d be right. But other than that, this guy has done quite a bit with very little to work with (thin free-agent classes) and has kept the farm totally intact.

Puppy, its not firing him because of one potentially bad season. Its that the moves he has made have put us in a huge whole.

Pierre for 5 years

Schmidt for 3 years

Nomar for 2 years

Kent for 1 more year

Thats a lot of our payroll right there. Almost everything he’s done so far this year made us worse instead of better. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. This years team is no where near as good as last years team and you can contribute that to Ned and his horrible signings that will put us back a few years.

And something else is a little interesting Nomar is only 98,000 behind Prince Fielder who has taken over first place from Pujols. I’m not saying he’s worthy of an All-Star selection, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility he could win the voting. And the idea of firing Grady or Coletti especiallly with the success Coletti has had putting together this roster is ludicrous. Nobody is perfect, there is not one GM out there who has not made an awful move. It’s all about responding to your mistakes and moving forward. Did Grady make a mistake yesterday? Absolutely. Has Coletti made some bad moves? Absolutely. However, Grady in his first year as Manager and Coletti in his first year as GM got this team to the postseason. Coletti is responsible for our outstanding bullpen (HELLO, SAITO) not to mention Beimel, Tsao and promoting young talent from within (Broxton, Billingsley) when he could have just as easily traded them off for proven bullpen help or a power bat. Not to mention what has become a great signing of Luis Gonzalez. The idea of firing them because Nomar’s power has fallen off the map out of nowhere considering he hit 20 HR’s last year and Pierre has underperformed thus far is ridiculous. It’s a LONG ROAD and this is still the first half of it. If you expected it to be easy you’re watching the wrong sport. This is baseball love it or hate it, so strap in cause we still have 3 1/2 months left of the season. And hopefully a whole lot more after that.

What hole Max, the only potential hole is Pierre because he’s locked in till 2011. But who is he blocking? Ichiro? Hunter? What makes you so sure they want to play here? You can’t build a team on questions. What happens if we have Lofton this season and we can’t sign an good outfielder this off season. How screwed would we be then? To where we may have to trade off prospects to get an outfielder. When Gonzalez leaves after this season Kemp takes over the job if he proves he can. And Coletti if he chooses can go after a free agent outfielder and can trade off Ethier if he chooses to. If Schmidt fails, we have Billingsley. We have Loney as insurance to Nomar which adds depth. And Kent for probably this final season. I know about the 550 plate appearance trigger of his option. But if he retires it’s irrelevant. Loney, Kemp and Abreu are all 22/23 years old and you can definitely tell Kemp and Abreu still have issues at the plate.

Friday we beat the Angels for our fourth straight win. Then we lose two and people are calling for Ned and Grady’s heads. I hope all of you people have better working conditions than those you propose for two people who have made this team clearly better than the one they inherited. If you don’t, I suspect you’ll be able to blog 24/7 unless you seek other employment when your sorry butts are axed.
We all want what’s best for the Dodgers, and we’re all entitled to our opinions and should express them. But, some of you folks really don’t need to beat a dead horse…it’s been demonstrated time and again that they don’t respond (the horses, not management). I’d like to hear positive, constructive suggestions, not the lunacy of obtaining Barry Bonds. Let’s see if we can find a way to get Cabrera or ARod, even if our track record with free agents is something less than stellar.

Meanwhile, here we go on the road against two teams we are thoroughly capable of beating. How about thinking positive and expect to come home next week with a 2 game lead in the west and close to the best record in the NL?!!!

More good news on the Padres front – Chris Young got a 5-games suspension, meaning the Pads have to temporarily create some pitching depth to win his start. I like our depth better than theirs. Hopefully we can pick up a game on them during his start.

I’m not ready to call the signing of Juan Pierre a failure just yet. Talk to me in October about him. One thing I have heard is that Pierre is historically stronger in the second half, and I’m sure that was a huge part of how he was able to help the Marlins to win a World Series.

I think the club is much stronger for having Colletti at the helm. Instead of consulting the magic laptop for whatever would look good on paper for cheap, we have informed baseball people making informed baseball decisions (though I wish Amalfatno was still on the Big Blue Speed Dial, but that wasn’t Ned’s mistake).

Yet, I would have to say the glaring mistake on his watch has to be whatever he said to Scott Boras after J.D. Drew opted out of his contract. Yes, it was dirty and underhanded, but much like the hidden ball trick, it was completely within the rules.

And Boras is definitely not a golden-hearted agent with his clients’ best interest in mind, but the reality is that he has some of the best talent in baseball among his clients. He is a monster created by the owners who will pay so much for players. Whatever was said, I don’t imagine we’ll be hearing any apologies from Boras.

That being said, Ned, for the sake of the Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Club, please make up with Scott. He has the talent that will get us to the Big Show (and I’m not talking about Paul Wight). Not that Ned has to sign all Boras clients for any chance (****, we’re doing pretty good right now with all things considered), but that is a bridge you need to have access to all the options available to build a winning ballclub. After all, we are one of the few teams in the bigs that has the payroll to hire his guys.

That being said, I hate Scott Boras for what he’s done to the game. I won’t print it here, but in the vein of Karma and Dante-esque visions, I’d like to imagine his fate would be something like what Ray Finkle’s mother said about Dan Marino.

I’m not calling for Ned’s or Little’s head. I think they’re doing a good job with what they’ve been given. Not a perfect job, no, because only in fan’s minds can a job be done perfectly. No, they do a good job, and that’s as much as one could ask for.

The only total jaw-dropper so far was the signing of Pierre. I mean, what the hey-diddy-doo was that all about? I hope that’s Ned’s worst signing ever, because I don’t think my temper will survive a signing that tops that one for sheer annoyance provided😛

The other contracts like Hendrickson, Tomko et all … they could have turned out either way. GMs don’t have a perfect track record, they’re only human. Gonzo, Saito, Seanez even ( though he’s hit the skids of late ), Furcal … those, for instance, turned out to be plus signings.

Extending Nomar made sense, given his great hitting at the start of last year before he got injured. Remember, the players are not saints. Nomar probably asked for those two years or else. A contract is compromise. You can’t just fleece the players for the good of the club, that extra year here and there or the extra money is the compromise the GM has to make to get the player at all. So sometimes a player gets signed for too long, but blame the collective bargaining agreement or whatever regulates labour relations in MLB for that, not the GM!

Kent provided steady production in the past and extending him provided a bridge to Abreu.

We have all the kids bar Billingsley, who is in the ‘pen, and LaRoche, who had to go down because, I suppose, Abreu gives more versatility since he plays 2B too, playing for us now. And Little’s giving them playing time. He has to work with what he’s given, too. And these guys are not quite there yet. Wait for the sample sizes to grow and most of them will probably settle in at around .250 or so. They can’t all be Russel Martin! They’ll develop into good hitters, but they’re still developing some.

Can’t find fault with Schmidt being tried to see which of his first two starts of the DL was the real one. Now they know, and Schmidt is on the DL, and a plan will be made with the starter’s spot.

Attaboy, Dodgers! Once things start clicking, we’re going to be in for fun times.

Let’s slow down on some things. People are starting to call for Ned and Grady’s head if we lose. More than anything, I wished that we had hired Mike Scioscia in 199-2000, and was devastated when he went to the Angels. But Fox messed that up, and last year Arte Moreno told Scioscia he could interview with the Dodgers, but he never wanted to. I am pretty sure that Scioscia is going to spend two decades with the Angels, and they will be lucky to have one of the best managers in the game.

I like Grady, and he’s never lost at any level, and he’s not losing here. I have my share of differences with Ned and Grady, but you just have to like the overall organizational approach–put together a team that can win now without sacrificing the youth that will have us winning in the future: have veterans that can play, but be willing to give the ball to the kids who are ready.

We could quibble with the details, but the philosophy is right, and we should be happy about it. We have some old guys, but on the other hand, how many teams are there that put 8 rookies on their post-season roster last year (1/3 of the roster–Brox, Bills, Kemp, Loney, Ethier, Kuo, Martin, and Saito)? (Only the Dodgers last year, but here’s a serious trivia question that I don’t have the answer to–who was the last team to have 8 rookies on a post-season roster? I would venture to guess that it is pretty rare.)

Plus, Betemit is a young guy (struggling, yes, but even when I thought Nomar should move over, I knew he had potential), and this year we have added Abreu to the mix, while giving a taste to LaRoche, Tsao, Brazobahn (who is still young), and Eric Hull (who never got into a game), plus Jonathan Meloan is knocking on the door, DJ Houlton and Eric Stults are both possibilities to come up this year. I don’t know where Scott Elbert and Greg Miller stand, but they are possibilities in the future, and Clayton Kershaw may prove the best of the lot.

I would have liked to see more of Loney and Kemp this year, but they are in there now, and are going to be a central part of the team (assuming the Scoreboard of Doom does not kill them).

So, as for Ned’s off-season signings, there is zero to complain about with Nomar. Clearly, the most popular Dodger in 2006. I think he’s been surpassed by Martin this year, but he was BELOVED last year, he was clutch (see 18 Sept 06 and 24 Sept 06), there was good reason to suspect that he would come back this year, and he took a discount to play in LA. The real problem has been our unwillingness to play him at 3rd or to bench him more. But we’re seeing more of Loney.

Schmidt was a good signing too. In many ways, I would have rather seen Maddux re-sign, but who knew that Penny would be lights out? And if he stutters in the second half like last year, where are we? But it’s a 3-year deal. We signed an older Kevin Brown for more money for 7 years (the winter after denying Mike Piazza–in the prime of his career–the same deal–oops).

I am even willing to defend the Pierre deal–he has prodigious speed, if you have, long-term, Ethier in left and Kemp in right, you need a center fielder, and no one is as sold on Delwyn Young (and Repko, besides being an overly aggressive injury waiting to happen) is probably a perpetual fourth outfielder, not a regular starter. I agree, we paid too much, but Boston is paying more per year to Julio Lugo, so it’s not the worst deal that was made this winter. And there is reason to believe that Pierre can be taught to be valuable (he did lead off for the 2003 World Champion Marlins, so even while I have not been impressed with his play so far, I acknowledge that he has potential).

Let’s also not get into the notion that if we don’t win this year, Ned and Grady should be fired. First off, it’s probably not fair. We’re in the toughest division in baseball–the third best record in the league and we’re still in third place in the division. Second, we should not think so short-term–if Ned is thinking that we have to win this year (and I don’t think that Frank McCourt is going to make his personnel-decision based on this blog, but imagine if he felt the same way), he could easily trade away some talent for a rent-a-player third-basemen or right fielder. That might put us over the top in the division, and maybe even capture a championship, but I really don’t want to go to a 2008 Spring Training without Loney, Kemp, Bills, Broxton, Ethier, Kuo, Abreu, etc. (I don’t list Martin because he really is untouchable–although I though Paul LoDuca was too, but the great thing is that I know Ned won’t pull a stunt like that–and I really like LaRoche, but he may be the odd-man out, though I still hope he is there next year).

In other words, it’s still better to lose the division by a game then to lose the team that’s going to win division, titles, pennants, and championships, for the next 10-15 years.

And that being said, this team has all the talent necessary to win the pennant this year too.

There is plenty to be upset about–Pierre is not playing well, Nomar is not driving the ball, Kent is not hitting the ball, Schmidt is injured, Tomko and Hendrickson have not been good at starting, Martin should be hitting higher in the order, Loney should be playing more, Kemp should be playing more, the right field wall should be padded, we should not be first-ball swinging so much, etc. But it’s all in the context of being in very good shape. We were in first place two days ago–in two days, we might be right back in there.

I’m glad we started such passionate debate, especially on a day without baseball – what else is there to do? I know that if I was the GM and was already spending $110 million on payroll, I would expect to be held accountable to at least get us through the first round of playoffs. After all, the two teams above us in the standings are not so fortunate as to afford that or willing to pay that kind of money. If I was the owner, and my GM wanted to go out and make a big deal that would probably add another 15-20 million to that payroll, I would feel justified in asking him to show me what he’s produced for that last $110 million. Given that perspective, I simply don’t feel like praising Colletti, but I do respect all of your opinions, and I’m especially grateful that we all have this forum on what might otherwise be a dull day in between games.

Let’s stick with facts guys the ones you all hate signed Saenz. He also signed our best two pitchers this year and without them we would be out of this race. (Penny/Lowe). Saito was a suprise that our boy Ned didnt even have on the roster to start last year.

Furcal has done well but he is being paid as much as Vlad Guerror this year. Sorry guys you dont pay slap hitters that much money. Schmidt is the 8th highes paid player in basball this year and the leauge knew he was loosing velocity and injury prone.

If Depodesta had signed Schmidt, Pierre, Hendu, Tomko, Nomar, Kent to a two year extension at 39 and put a 3-4-5 together full of over the hill guys along with – defenders at every position besides SS and C you guys would have hung him on the think blue sign.

Now hear this—I say that if BILLINGLEY does not replace Schmidt in the rotation right now, when he deserves it then I think he’s TRADE BATE, I’m sure he has the best value of all the guy’s in the bullpen right now. I know they will not get rid of BEIMEL, BROXTON or SAITO. Billingsley has looked extaordinary in his outings lately. He may have to miss a start. But I tell you he’s ready… GO__DODGERS

Max,
I’m not surprised you overlooked Ethier and Beimel…even though they were crucial last year and are invaluable this year. It’s probably more fun for you to have a longer list of bad things, huh? You could probably add Betemit to the good list, too, since he’s improving, has upside and trade value.

Lugo, Hendrickson, Baez…why are these bad? Yes, the players didn’t pan out, but he took a risk and they didn’t work out. It’s not like he gave up anything of value for any of these players. So, I think they should have a separate category – gambles that didn’t work, maybe. Schimdt’s another story – you’re calling it bad based on 2.5 months of a 3-year contract. Let’s see how he works out, maybe?

And although you didn’t list Martin, since he was in the org. already, remember that Navarro was DePo’s wet dream glitter queen – Martin never would have played all of 2006 and shown what he did. Probably would have been traded.

Pierre… if the Dodgers were to trade Chad Billingsley and not get something stellar in return, I think you’d find mass mutiny in Chavez Ravine… especially if Tomko or Hendrickson took the mound in his rightful place.

Note to Dodger Brass: It’s time for Billingsley to get his shot in the rotation. Middle relief will happen on its own, and Tomko has shown he can handle it if he’s made the regular “go to” guy in the middle. Let’s get the arms we need in the rotation now… not in August when it might be too late.

I hope he picks later. I’d love to win the division this year, but I don’t think the Ds would win the Pennant, almost certainly not the WS. With these talented kids, I think free agency is the way to go. You all know who I want for next year, I don’t have to say it again. I think with one or two good offseason signings and half a season of growing these kids we have, ’08 and beyond could belong to the Blue.

And although you didn’t list Martin, since he was in the org. already, remember that Navarro was DePo’s wet dream glitter queen – Martin never would have played all of 2006 and shown what he did. Probably would have been traded.

Thats complete BS. 100% wrong and I can go get you the quotes to prove it. To think depo was against a high OBP catcher is ludicrous. He was showcasing Navarro and did say that Navarro was more immediatly ready and that Martin needed one more year.

I agree Puppy head. I don’t mind the course were heading (as oppossed to trading prospects) I just think if were not going to do anything major then play the kids and trade everyone else. If were gonna win by barley hitting then lets put our best defense on the field.

actually, bills would be much better trade bait if they do make him a starter. That being said, I don’t think any starting pitcher is being traded now that Schmidt is done for a while, and perhaps the season.

Every wants to bash Depo but truthfully the majority of the players that helped us last year (and this year) were either signed or traded for by Depo. This is not to say he was a great GM (see: 2005). I think a lot of people wanted to belive ned was the anti-depo and was going to restore instant credibility to a sputtering franchise. Well, ok… last year was a big step in the right direction. But am I the only one that feels this year has been a big backslide from that? We had all these up and coming great young players, the future looked very bright for us. Well, that future is still there. But I can’t help but feel alot of this offseason’s acquistions has weighed the team down instead of helping. I feel like the momentum from the end of 2006 has just been bogged down by the reality of pierre, schmidt, powerless nomar, etc.

I agree with you, but if he is not going back to starting and he doesn’t replace Schmidt aventually, if not sooner. Then I feel they are using him as bait. All the announcers of the other teams were praising him to the sky. Especially the Mets and Angels. ///

I’m not ready to call the signing of Juan Pierre a failure just yet. Talk to me in October about him. One thing I have heard is that Pierre is historically stronger in the second half, and I’m sure that was a huge part of how he was able to help the Marlins to win a World Series.

I think the club is much stronger for having Colletti at the helm. Instead of consulting the magic laptop for whatever would look good on paper for cheap, we have informed baseball people making informed baseball decisions (though I wish Amalfatno was still on the Big Blue Speed Dial, but that wasn’t Ned’s mistake).

Yet, I would have to say the glaring mistake on his watch has to be whatever he said to Scott Boras after J.D. Drew opted out of his contract. Yes, it was dirty and underhanded, but much like the hidden ball trick, it was completely within the rules.

And Boras is definitely not a golden-hearted agent with his clients’ best interest in mind, but the reality is that he has some of the best talent in baseball among his clients. He is a monster created by the owners who will pay so much for players. Whatever was said, I don’t imagine we’ll be hearing any apologies from Boras.

That being said, Ned, for the sake of the Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Club, please make up with Scott. He has the talent that will get us to the Big Show (and I’m not talking about Paul Wight). Not that Ned has to sign all Boras clients for any chance (****, we’re doing pretty good right now with all things considered), but that is a bridge you need to have access to all the options available to build a winning ballclub. After all, we are one of the few teams in the bigs that has the payroll to hire his guys.

That being said, I hate Scott Boras for what he’s done to the game. I won’t print it here, but in the vein of Karma and Dante-esque visions, I’d like to imagine his fate would be something like what Ray Finkle’s mother said about Dan Marino.

The biggest mistake Depodesta made was not firing Tracy after 2004. Now, how do you fire a manager who just got you into the playoffs? is that something you would do? I don’t know. Would it have been better so depodesta and Tracy were on the same page, yes it would have.

I’ve been around long enough. The guy they trade is always one of the most popular. In this case we need POWER somebody needs PITCHING. Maybe now, with SCHMIDT hurting thought pattern will change. I HOPE IT DOES. But only the next week or so, will tell.

i don’t know, ned seems to live in fear of media criticism (he must be biting his nails right now) and i think bill has been exposed enough that he would be roundly criticized. He’d have a hard time justifying trading a 22 year old power pitcher unless it was for a frachise type of player, which we won’t get.

I know that starting & relieving are two different animals but not when it comes to former starters. BILLS didn’t look good he looked dominating. I think he could go 6-7 innings ever 5th day. but of course I am no Expert.

I’m not for a trade right now. BUT if it’s going to happen a trade with BILLS in it, is the only trade right now that the Dodgers would make to get a FRANCHISE TYPE PLAYER , but if I’m wrong it will be the 100,000,000,000 time I am, so don’t fret.

Sure hope your right MAX…
BTW Max, why did you leave out Brady Clark in you list of bad moves….

Here is another point of view by a Medis type…

Colletti, the former Giant, could not have known more about top line starter Jason Schmidt. He even had hired the director of training and health stuff from the Giants, a guy said to be the best in baseball. So there can be no excuses.

Schmidt had to be rested several times last year as the wear and tear of nearly a decade starting every four or five days began to take their toll on Schmidt. That should have been a warning.

Yet the Dodgers shelled out $45 million on an aging pitcher with tell tale signs that should have warned even a beginning GM. But Colletti and the Dodgers were not deterred.

For their decision and major investment, the Dodgers have only a single win in almost three months and with Schmidt on the DL, that single digit return is all they will get prior to the all star break. Colletti took his chances and lost.

His decision to offer a multi year contract to Juan Pierre has also, so far, been a bummer. Pierre has nary a homer, nary a defensive out supplied by his arm (or lack thereof), the Dodgers have scores of runners take advantage of their outfield defense.

The most that can be said of the Dodgers defense is that it has been offensive.

Pierre,no longer a youngster, will not get faster. His arm will not return (from a place it never was). He is unlikely, even he historically has been a second half player, to get a whole lot better.

Like Schmidt, the Dodgers will find few if any takers for aging players with declining skills and mega year contracts at too high levels.

With a payroll the Dodgers would like to cap at near the $100 million level, having so much tied up in two contracts that frankly have not worked out, certainly cramps a team that is just off the pace and in need of help down the stretch.

The decision to offer Nomar Garciaparra a two year big bucks extension has produced one home run, repeat a single home run, so far. The resigning decision hardly wins raves three months into the season.

The Randy Wolf decision, which looked so good the first six weeks, frankly has gone south as the Dodgers have slipped out of a lead it held for two months.

The Dodgers decision to place Brett Tomko and Mark Hendrickson in the starting rotation has already been abandoned. The decision to bring in Brady Clark is already slipping into the minutiae of Dodgers history.

In their favor, the Dodgers have corrected their earlier decisions and restored James Loney and Matt Kemp to the roster and also correctly added Winston Abreu to the big league team. Sooner or later, the Dodgers will take Chad Billingsley to the rotation. He has pitched so well so long in relief that it will become increasingly hard to try to hide him.

The first half report card on Ned Colletti yields neither an A or even a B.

Notes from the Bleachers– Ex Marlins manager Joe Girardi is seen as favorite to be the new Baltimore manager…Leo Mazzone may not want to continue as pitching coach in Baltimore now that his chum Sam Perlozzi is out…Mazzone would look awful good in Dodgers Blue…

It wont and since it was pointed out before Ned seems to be afraid of Media criticism. If Billingsley wasnt to replace schmidt in the rotation the LA Times, DAily NEWs and almost every Dodger fan with a working Brain would be criticizing him.

If Bomkbo and Hendrickson get a chance in the rotation again McCourt seriously has to consider firing whoever made the decision.

You want to trade the guys you want to trade, But that’s not how the big trades go. It’s some of my BEST guys for some of Your BEST guys. That’s why I think a trade right now is NOT good for us and I’m ROOTING for BILLS TOO. Tracy wanted DUNN when he was the manager, maybe we can get him a little cheaper, BUT who goes? WHO DO THEY WANT FROM US?

“One thing I have heard is that Pierre is historically stronger in the second half, and I’m sure that was a huge part of how he was able to help the Marlins to win a World Series.” – drinkinmercury79@aol.com | June 18, 2007 05:26 PM

Every season Pierre bats better post-All Star break but in 2003 the difference was slight.

Juan Pierre 2003 – CF for the champion Florida Marlins:

Period BA OBP SLG

Overall .305 .361 .373

Pre-AS .298 .358 .361

Post-AS .316 .366 .389

Yes, he was a little better in the 2nd part of 2003, but not markedly.

Last year post-AS: .311 .340 .418

Career .301 .348 .374

2007 .278 .310 .327

To end with 2007 numbers that equal his career average he’ll have to post about:

.321 .380 .415

The only times he’s done that or better is 2001 (in Colorado) and his career year of 2004.

MAX POWER we’re 2 guys rooting for the same team. You have your fears, I have my fears. We both want the same thing to happen. I think that’s why these Blogs, are a good thing to have. I respect your thoughts 7 opinions.

KSSPARK you’re right also, If it’s a bum deal, WOOOOOOOOOW.
I need some rest—no game. A good time to take it. LET’S GO PENNY__LET’S GO DODGERS–LET’S GO GUYS. IT’S BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE I COULD DISCUSS THINGS WITH TRUE DODGER FANS.

Well, it has taken me nearly an hour to read all of these posts and, in doing so, I have made a few observations.

First and foremost, the “some of you guys” on this blog who are calling for Ned Colletti and Grady Little to be fired appears to be only one or two people at most.

Secondly – Let me ask you guys a rhetorical question: Who would you be willing to give up, to get Miguel Cabrera? If such a trade were even possible (which apparently it is not), the top name on the Marlins’ list would undoubtedly be Chad Billingsley, and would probably also include James Loney, Matt Kemp, and Jonathan Broxton (and a ton of money). My point is that pierreseastmeetswest is absolutely 100% dead-on in that Chad Billingsley is probably the most attractive player on the Dodger roster capable of generating a trade for a franchise-type player like Miguel Cabrera. Trust me, nobody wants to see Chad Billingsley goes (especially me), but you can’t have your cake and eat it, too (I’ve always hated that cliché, but it fits this situation). I’m pretty sure that this is what pierreseastmeetswest was getting at with regards to Billingsley being our Crown Jewel. If we want someone very good, it will cost us dearly.

Thirdly – Mike Scioscia is the Tommy Lasorda of the Angels. He will NEVER leave the Angel organization and his number will be retired when he retires. Grady Little is certainly no Tommy Lasorda or Mike Scioscia, but he is a very good manager.

Fourthly – Even though I, like most of you, have been critical of Juan Pierre, I have promised myself that I would give him the full season before rendering a final judgment on him (in spite of the pain that it may cause me).

Fifthly – Everybody is ragging on Grady Little for putting James Loney in right field in Sunday’s game, yet just two short weeks ago, everybody wanted James Loney brought up from Las Vegas – no matter WHERE he played. I do not fault Grady one bit for putting Loney in right field. In all honesty, it was a very good move, as it would give Loney some much needed experience in the outfield, so that he can get into more games (and get more at bats). The injury to James Loney is nothing more than an unfortunate accident. The good news is that it appears that the injury is relatively minor and will not land him on the DL (I hope).

Poor Edwin Jackson, he’s 0-8 on the season and is up 3-2 and pitching his best game of the season against the Diamondbacks. He’s one out away from qualifying for a victory but is taken out of the game because of a pain in his right throwing hand, perhaps a nerve issue. But, he’s sitting on the bench now so maybe he’ll make his next start against the Dodgers.

Was it that he took Boston to the ALCS? or was it the fact that after he got fired the next year they went on to win the world series?

Was it the fact that he took the Dodgers to the playoffs last year? or was it the fact that they got swept? Jim Tracy won a Playoff game for the Dodgers with less talent.

Is it that fact Russell Martin leads the team in almost every offensive category? or is it the fact that Martin bats 6th?

Playing Julio Lugo all the time sure helps him too. Also Mark Hendrickson losing 7 straight decision last year was brilliant. As was putting Tomko in the rotation this spring when he was clearly out pitched by Billingsley.

Miguel Cabrera has a chance to be an all time great. I wouldn’t mind him being a Dodger but this year has shown that he’s prone to injury and that he’s a couple plates of beans and rice away from being a DH.

Grady has his hands tied by Colletti too often. With batting Nomar third it’s like batting Lugo 3rd last year; what are ya gonna do when this is your boss’ hot new acquisition? Same with Mark Hendrickson, who had the 7th best ERA of lefties in the AL. He asked for a power hitter over the offseason and got Juan Pierre.

I think it says a lot to his credit that over time he’ll make the necessary changes, like demoting Baez out of closer and setup roles, stop using Abreu at third, moving Martin up in the lineup, and he doesn’t intentionally use three pitchers to get three outs in an inning just because the second guy up is a left-hander. He actually usually does pretty well with the pitching staff, and he doesn’t leave anyone in for over 120 pitches (most of the time when it’s even close it’s Lowe in like the 8th inning). Little likes to play the hot hand, and other than that he’s a good clubhouse order guy and is acutally good in dealing with the media. That’s all you really want out of a manager – that, and not constantly ordering sacrifice bunts from good players (Cox ruined the game for Atlanta once last year by ordering LaRoche to bunt). Perhaps most importantly, Little, unlike Colletti, seems familiar with OBP.

The biggest faults he has are a blindness towards old Boston favorites (coughDerekLowecough), but honestly he’s pretty good.

Max… are you freaking autistic or something? Because you can’t seem to get it through your thick dumb-*** skull of yours that the majority of us here could CARE ABSOLUTELY LESS about how you FEEL about Grady Little or Ned Colletti! Get off of your stupid, incessant rants already!! PISSS OFF! Go the freak away already! Your act is tirelessly old…

You alone are making this one of the worst places on the internet to be. You won’t shut up! We get it! You’ve made yourself felt! Please add something of worth to this site or just leave!! I don’t think you even care the least about the Dodgers other than to prove THAT YOU ARE RIGHT!!! Go the freak away!!! I am sure I speak for more than myself when I say this!! You are freaking brain dead!!

as yes one of kss patented hissy fits. Of course he won’t be a man and try and debate me. Instead he decides to make a fool of himself by sounding like a 12 year old girl who got their cell phone taken away.

Please kss, be a little more mature next time. Try debating stuff like a grown up. I asked a simply question. “What makes Grady Little a very good manager?” all i see is people saying that he is but no evidence to back it up.

Why should I get into a battle of wits with you Max when you are obviously unarmed. We’ve defended Grady Little as the Dodgers’ manager countless times. You’ve got your opinions and those of us that truly support our Dodgers have ours. No answer to this “new” (for today) question of yours will ever suffice… so why should we even waste our time with you? You just can’t seem to get enough of this… and because of such you appear to have the perseverative condition exhibited by those afflicted with autism… because NO ANSWER WILL EVER BE GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU! YOU HAVE TO BE RIGHT! That, my severely impaired Dodger brother, is where the debate ends. You cannot accept the fact that the majority here are proud to have Grady Little as our manager and that we accept the fact that he is a HUMAN BEING… fallable and prone to making mistakes… something to which YOU would never admit to. But yet you bait the person who would carelessly fall to your trap with double ended questions… by touting Grady’s strong points and then noting an “obvious” failure that you perceive to be a character flaw. You have no intention of “debating” this “topic” of yours… you just want to prove your acerbic points that only support your staunch view on this subject.

Why do fein such horse **** that this is a “new” topic to discuss? Grow a brain Max! It’s not like we’ve travailed this road before… oh great and marvelous that you are. Pathetic.

max_power_05: “What makes Grady Little a very good manager?” all i see is people saying that he is but no evidence to back it up.”

Max, the evidence that you do not see is right in front of you, IF you wanted to see it. But it seems to me that, for whatever reason, you do not want to see it. Here is but a brief sample of the evidence that you choose not to see:

“… (Grady Little’s) .580 winning percentage ranks highest among all active Major League managers and that percentage is higher than any Major League manager since 1970…his 93 wins in 2002 were the most by a rookie Major League manager since Jim Frey won 97 games in 1980, his career winning percentage ranks 12th in Major League history among the managers who have managed 320 or more games…”

And another:

“Little, 57, guided the Dodgers to an 88-74 mark last year (2006), a 17-game improvement from the previous year, and a share of the National League West title.”

Just because Grady Little doesn’t do the things that you think he should or should not do doesn’t necessarily mean that he is not a good manager, my friend.

Max… are you freaking autistic or something? Because you can’t seem to get it through your thick dumb-*** skull of yours that the majority of us here could CARE ABSOLUTELY LESS about how you FEEL about Grady Little or Ned Colletti! Get off of your stupid, incessant rants already!! PISSS OFF! Go the freak away already! Your act is tirelessly old…

You alone are making this one of the worst places on the internet to be. You won’t shut up! We get it! You’ve made yourself felt! Please add something of worth to this site or just leave!! I don’t think you even care the least about the Dodgers other than to prove THAT YOU ARE RIGHT!!! Go the freak away!!! I am sure I speak for more than myself when I say this!! You are freaking brain dead!!

Max, and a few others on this blog care much about the dodgers and show this in the way that we are very critical of them and many of the moves they make. We don’t have to be raw raw cheerleaders to love the dodgers. We are as much in titled to this blog as anyone else. Thats all.

Max, you don’t need to have the last word every time. You also don’t need to make the same point time after time after time after time after time(get MY point?).
Repeating yourself, just like TALKING LOUDER doesn’t make your point any stronger.

Please make your point once then back off, listen to the response, and move on to something else.

Frankly, I’m now starting to ignore you, and that’s unfortunate, because I used to think you had interesting posts. Now they’re just tiresome.

This is a final warning to the several people who have continued to use foul language in their comments. If it happens again, your email address will be blocked out from usage on all MLB sites without warning. I find it extremely hard to believe that you can’t find a way to express your points without putting a bunch of $#*& to symbolize bad words and going forward, it will no longer be tolerated. Thank you for your understanding.

Well after about a week off of not coming to this blog and watching our boys get handled by the OC boys, i have to say i miss this soap opera of a blog called “As the inside the Dodgers Blog turns!” I love our guys just as much as most of you out there and i had to constantly remind myself that the season isnt even half way over yet, we have been in worse positions after the break so im not worried at all. Now about a couple things i noticed while reading a couple minutes of this blog.

One the scoreboard walls were not the imediate cause of either injury to Kemp and or Loney, Kemp is more of a possiblity than Loney because Loney hit his knee on the cement under the plexiglass. I also agree with puppyhead that the plexiglass was not the total cause of Kemp seperated shoulder, the force to which he hit the wall was the big cause and im sure the plexiglass didnt help but thats not what caused it.

Grady is, and i have said this plenty of times before (max!), the best manager we have had since Lasorda! not only did he bring this team last year from a losing and horrible season to a winning record of 88-74 and a share of the NL West but also has turned this year into a worth while season to watch. He has put us in a position to win big now the players have to start putting there part in!

I also did find it interesting to read all the bickering between some of our good guys and bad guys! (dont get offended it was a joke hahaha) its interesting to see that some think us positive thinkers are just cheerleaders and not fans of the game, atleast thats how i take it when they say it. We get just as frustrated with our boys as you do but we choose to see that there is plenty of games to be played and we know that this is just a game and not something to cry over. The little things in this game is what i live for, a great play to take away a base hit, a walk off homerun, a great jump on a stolen base, a great stop at the play at the plate! Thats maybe the reason why we choose to see the positives in the game and not the little things like a strikeout or an error. We are still in the hunt for first and are not playing well but not playing terrible either so we just need to find our groove and im sure that will happen in the near future.

Maybe it will take seeing Russell out there playing and representing our Dodger Blue at the All star Game. I for one think that makes a big statement that our future kids are going to do some damage!

Thank you, dahustlasbac. That was an excellent and much needed post (as was Josh’s reprimand).

We are one big (Dodger) family and, as with every family, we will have our moments of disagreement.

Here is a thought – After typing a comment for this blog but BEFORE hitting the “Post” button, how about we get up and walk around for a minute or two. Then come back, re-read our comments, and ask ourselves: “Do I really want to Post this?” This brief moment may prevent us from making fools out of ourselves or from turning our Dodger forum friends into enemies. Remember, once you hit that Post button, there is no bringing it back or deleting it. Just a thought.

Max, kssparkuhl, and everybody else – It’s all good here. After all, we are ALL Dodger fans; and what could POSSIBLY be better than that?

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